Terminator IV Changes Names

A rose by any other name, the sages tell us, would smell as sweet. In that spirit, Coming Soon has a story noting that the McG-helmed, Christian Bale-led fourth film in the Terminator franchise, previously known as Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, will now have a wholly different title. It will, of course, still be a wholly unnecessary extension tacked on to the first two films; it will still be directed by McG; it will still have almost nothing to do with James Cameron's original vision for the films; it will lack Arnold Schwarzenegger; however, it will not be called Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. No replacement title has yet been announced.

Currently slated for release May 2009, Terminator IV will ostensibly kick off a three-film series detailing the man-machine war that's the backbone of the Terminator films; Christian Bale (Rescue Dawn, Batman Begins) will star as the adult John Connor alongside newcomer Sam Worthington (Who, amusingly enough, is also scheduled to appear in ... James Cameron's Avatar). And yet, new name or not, I have almost no enthusiasm for this project.

Will you check Terminator IV out when it lands in May 2009, or does the cash-hungry smell of desperation and futility that lingers about this whole idea put you off?